Member Astronomical League and International Dark-Sky Association
The Austin Astronomical Society's monthly club meetings are free and open to the public. Come visit us! The meetings are held on the second Friday of each month, beginning at 7:30 PM. Following upcoming meetings are profiles of previous meetings.
This month's meeting will be held on Friday, February 12, at the University of Texas at Austin meeting location (more information below). This month the Austin Astronomical Society's own wandering amateur astronomer, Richard Blake, regales us with stories from the national parks, where he has been conducting and managing astronomy programs over the last three years in the late summer and fall.
This will be a fun presentation for newbies and oldies alike. Richard will touch on a number of topics with visuals including: Why Galileo is still worth talking about after IYA--Why don't things in the eyepiece look like the pictures and how to prepare and set realistic expectations for the public--Some not yet open-to-the-public astronomy sites at Chaco Culture National Historic Park--Astronomy Festival at Bryce Canyon National Park--Outreach in the National Parks, and some tips on sharing information with the public--How to get hooked up as a volunteer in a National Park.
Whether you enjoy learning interesting and arcane bits of history that bring astronomy alive; are considering visiting the National Parks and partaking of their astronomy programs; are polishing your personal outreach style; or just miss Richard's humor and witty astronomical repartee, we invite you to the February 2010 meeting where he touches on his travels and shares his learning.
University of Texas at Austin meeting location. The UT Austin meeting location is RLM Room 4.102 (The Wheeler Lecture Hall), in the Robert Lee Moore Building, on the UT campus at the southeast corner of the intersection of Dean Keeton and Speedway.
UT Parking. To avoid a parking ticket, we suggest parking in the Speedway Garage (SWG on the map, at the southwest corner of the intersection of 27th & Speedway, entrance on Speedway), which is open until 11:00 p.m. per UT website as of January 2009. The parking fee is $5. As of the August 2009 meeting, there was still free parking available in Lot 92, adjacent to the Speedway Garage. If you plan to park at UT, you must always check signs carefully. If a sign says "at all times" or "all other times", do not park there. Sometimes there are free parking spaces available on Dean Keeton, which is under the jurisdiction of the City of Austin, not UT.
Top of PageThe meeting was held on Friday, January 8, at the University of Texas at Austin meeting location. The presentation was the film "The Mystery of Chaco Canyon" (sequel to "The Sun Dagger".
Having observed the recent winter solstice, we leave telescopes behind to travel back in time and visit the 'American Stonehenge.' A thousand years ago, transits of sun and moon were marked by a people without a system of writing, who nonetheless devised a sophisticated calendar to track key astronomical events, integrating them into the very architecture of their society and religious observance. High above Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, we see the vestiges of a unique complex that functioned as an observatory, complete with a Sun Dagger that commemorates not only significant cosmological dates, but also the very existence of these ancient astronomers.
Narrated by Robert Redford, this film opens the door to a place in time that is currently not accessible to the public due to its fragility, in part brought on by the immense popularity of the Chaco Canyon site after its discovery in the 1970s.
Per vote of the members at the October meeting, the December meeting was held on Friday, December 4, one week earlier than the usual schedule, at Wild Basin. This was our annual party. The party began at 7:00 PM, and "a good time was had by all." It was a very good party!
The meeting was held on Friday, November 13, at the University of Texas location. Cindy Luongo Cassidy, from Green Earth Lighting, presented "Light Right for Sight at Night," which addressed lighting issues and problems, while exploring some of the relatively simple solutions. She also brught some examples of dark sky friendly lighting alternatives from Green Earth Lighting, which bears the International Dark Sky Association Seal of Approval.
As importantly, Cindy discussed her past and future efforts to work with the legislative bodies and others to bring about changes to how we light the night. Research on several fronts indicates there are positive aspects of appropriate lighting that go far beyond being able to enjoy the view from a telescope. A number of different interests and organizations, including the American Medical Association and AARP, are beginning to coalesce around the need for change that will work to the benefit of all.
When we--as amateur astronomers--can understand and communicate the issues, problems and solutions around light pollution, we stand a much greater chance of convincing others to take action to preserve the night skies, among other positive results. At the same time, if we can harness the voices in astronomical societies across the globe, we stand the best chance of effecting that change.
Cindy helped us understand some of the ways we can think about doing that locally and on a state level. She showed us how to light the night right and how to raise awareness of this critical issue.
November Pre-Meeting Meeting (Meeting before the Meeting). This event will lasted from 6:30 until 7:15 PM in ETC 2.114. AAS Member Bill Tschumy discussed "Observing the Winter Sky". See the flyer with more information about this event.
The meeting was held on Friday, October 9, at the University of Texas location.
Are you now or have you ever thought about building your own observatory? For October, we heard from an amateur astronomer who told us about designing and constructing his completely solar powered Sundance Observatory and how he shares the night sky with those in his community. Along the way, he shared some of the 'Gotcha!' lessons learned that could save some time, money and headaches for those of you who see this kind of project in your future.
Roy Jenevein, of the Williamson County Astronomy Club, regularly opens his observatory doors to visits by Cub Scouts and other elementary schools students to explore the wonders of the Universe. Having gotten his first telescope at age five, Roy is living proof of his theory that if youngsters can be 'hooked' on astronomy, they develop a natural affinity for science as they grow into using all the various disciplines needed for observing. A computer scientist and co-founder of Highpoint Technologies, Inc., Roy currently serves as Director of the Digital Media Collaboratory at UT Austin and Consultant to Freescale.
Roy has applied his extensive scientific knowledge to design an ideal, 'whole' observatory with dome, mount and computer that run on stored solar, a virtual UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) that additionally powers his weather station and web server. Roy may also share a bit about the cloud detector he is designing and building. Time permitting, he may even entertain questions about computerized satellite imaging, but we might save that for Double Dave's discussion.
Roy is director of the Digital Media Collaboratory at the University of Texas at Austin.
The meeting was held on Friday, September 11. It was the club's 40th anniversary! We had a Double Feature: Artist Edvard Munch's 'Starry Night' & 'Galilean Telescopes', presented by Professors Donald Olson and Russell Doescher!
Professors Donald Olson and Russell Doescher of Texas State University Physics Department bring their very special brand of forensic astronomy to help wind down this year of celebrating Galileo. Having spoken a number of times to the Austin Astronomical Society, they follow up previous research and presentations, but this time solve the mystery surrounding a painting from 1893 by Edvard Munch, titled 'Starry Night'. (See an image of the painting.) As always, Dr. Olson led us through the sidereal aspects of the art he selects, illustrating as he proved his points and brought the work alive and the time of its making.
Professor Doescher demonstrated for us Galilean telescopes he has constructed, just as the Italian astronomer showed Venetian merchants his new creation so long ago in 1609. Prof. Doescher shared his knowledge of Galileo's refracting telescope design and building. Weather permitting, we will step outside to hunt for views of Jupiter and its satellites using these scopes to commemorate this 400th year of Galileo's genius and accomplishments.
Research by Professors Olson and Doescher, frequently with the assistance of English Professor Marilynn Olson, has been cited in articles published by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Smithsonian (includes extensive bibliography), Time, the San Antonio Express News, as well as Sky and Telescope (list of links to articles) and others.
Comparing astronomical occurrences, historical fact and artworks, they are able to interpret and explain not only the art but also literary works, including aspects of Shakespeare. Topics have included "The Sun, Moon, and Tides at Caesar's Invasion of Britain in 55 BC"; "Predicting Moonbows at Yosemite" and "An Ansel Adams Encore"; "The Moonrise Photographs of Ansel Adams"; "Questions about Edvard Munch's painting 'Girls on the Pier'"; "When the Sky Ran Red: The Story behind 'The Scream'"; and "The Moon and the First Marathon", and more.
Dr. Olson is the first recipient of Texas State University's Joann Cole Mitte Faculty Grant for Excellence, a competitive $25,000 award, funded by the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation of Austin. His website at Texas State is http://uweb.txstate.edu/~do01.
The meeting was held on Friday, August 14. This month, we focused on the private star party experience, in particular Texas Star Party and Eldorado Star Party, with some short slide and video presentations and information about upcoming dates and details, as well as informal Q&A and sharing by AAS members about some of their favorite or most meaningful experiences.
The meeting was held on Friday, July 10, at the University of Texas location. We went through a different kind of "Looking Glass" with George "Fritz" Benedict, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist and Senior Lecturer with the McDonald Observatory and the UT Austin Department of Astronomy. A Shapley Memorial Lecture Series speaker for the American Astronomical Society since 1982 and Former AAS Chair of the Division on Dynamical Astronomy, Dr. Benedict also participates in Working Groups on Galaxy Photometry and Astronomical Image Processing for the International Astronomical Union.
Specializing in astrometry, space astrometry, extragalactic astronomy, applications of computers to astronomy and image processing, he has a world of experience, including current work on the Space Interferometry Mission Mass-Luminosity Key Project and Hubble Space Telescope Observation since 1994.
Dr. Benedict spoke on "Recent Results from the Hubble Space Telescope, Some Even Mine". He guided a tour through the different instruments that reside in Hubble's focal plane, and showed images of the results that each one has been getting. Here is his before-the-presentation abstract: "What has Hubble Space Telescope done for us recently? After an introduction consisting of lots of pretty pictures I'll move on to 'weightier' matters, specifically how we determine the masses of objects tens and hundreds of light years distant. Snow White would approve as we weigh extrasolar planets, brown dwarfs, white dwarfs and red dwarfs."
The meeting was held on Friday, June 12. W. Lee Powell, Jr., spoke on the topic, "Exploring the Structure of the Milky Way ".
W. Lee Powell, Jr., is a newly appointed assistant professor of Physics at Texas Lutheran University, in Seguin, Texas. He recently completed his Ph.D. in physics at Texas Tech University, with a dissertation titled "Tidal Streams in the Milky Way: An Observational Study". During his time at Texas Tech, his research was selected for an honorable mention for the American Astronomical Society's Chambliss Award. Lee's work also brought him accolades as winner of the Texas Tech graduate school research poster competition. Lee holds a B.S. in Physics and English, with an Astronomy minor, and an M.S. degree in Physics from Stephen F. Austin State University. A frequent observer at McDonald Observatory, he has also observed at Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, Arizona, and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile; and has used data gathered from Las Campanas Observatory, also in Chile above the Atacama Desert, where the 25-meter Giant Magellan Telescope is slated for construction. Lee has presented frequently at the American Astronomical Society meetings and also at the Bash Symposium in Austin and numerous other invited venues as well. He has been published in connection with the Bash Symposium as well as in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and submits both there and to the Astrophysical Journal.
Abstract by Dr. Powell. "Recent large-scale surveys have led to major advances in our understanding of the structure and stellar populations of the Milky Way. For all our understanding of the structure of distant galaxies, studying structure in our own galaxy is akin to studying the morphology of a forest from amidst the trees. I will talk about my work on two particular areas of interest in this field. I will discuss the nature of the Canis Major Over-density (CMa) which is potentially the remnant of a dwarf companion galaxy cannibalized by the Milky Way. I have worked to determine whether the CMa really has an external origin, or is instead a manifestation of sub-structure in the Galactic disk.
"I will also discuss my work observing suspected variable stars that have been selected during the reduction process of those same large-scale surveys, particularly RR Lyrae and anomalous metal line (Am) stars. Both types of stars are pulsating. I work on determining which suspected stars are truly variable, using that result to fine tune our selection criteria. I also will be doing follow up observations on these stars to produce full lightcurves of the confirmed variable stars."
The meeting was held on Friday, May 8, at St. Stephens Episcopal School.
Many members met in the magical surroundings of Frank Mikan's observatory and teaching space at St. Stephen's for a change of pace, as we screened the PBS film "Seeing in the Dark" by Timothy Ferris. Cited by The Washington Post as the 'best science writer of his generation,' Ferris interviews some of astronomy's noteworthy personalities, including Stephen James O'Meara (The Herschel 400 Observing Guide) and Texas' own Barbara Wilson, Director of the George Observatory outside Houston. As importantly, Ferris captures the essence of the stargazing experience and gives us the opportunity to remember why it is we do this thing we love to do. Telescopes were available for viewing after screening on what promises to be a delightful late spring evening.
The meeting was held on April 10. With respect to our speaker, Galileo would be proud! Our presentation was "Extremely Large Telescopes," given by Dr. Anita Cochran, Assistant Director of McDonald Observatory and Senior Research Scientist of The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Astronomy. (See her home page.)
In particular, Dr. Cochran discussed the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), "product of more than a century of astronomical research and telescope-building by some of the world's leading research institutions." The GMT, scheduled for a 2018 completion date, will produce images up to 10 times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope and is said to be opening a "new window on the universe for the 21st century."
Dr. Cochran has served as chair of the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society, as a Councilor of the American Astronomical Society, and as a member of the US National Committee of the International Astronomical Union. She has served on numerous committees of the National Research Council including the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX). Dr. Cochran was also a member of NASA's Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby Imaging Science Team and was a Co-Investigator of the NASA CONTOUR mission. She is currently a member of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory?s Observatory Council. See Dr. Cochran's full curriculum vitae (resume) and publications.
The meeting was held on Friday, March 13. The first second-generation American astronaut and the sixth Private Space Explorer, previously best known as a leader of the computer games industry, Richard Garriott will speak about his recent trip to the International Space Station including: training, the flight, his experiments and experiences!
Austin's own Rocket Man briefed us on his October 2008 flight aboard the Soyuz TMA-12 to the ISS. He also shared scientific aspects of his personal mission, including bio-tech and the striking differences between images of Earth he made as compared to 1973 photos of the same targets taken by his scientist and astronaut father, Owen Garriott from Skylab 3. (See http://winearth.terc.edu.)
Having initially achieved fame in the gaming industry as a designer and programmer, Richard developed the Ultima series and with family members and others, founded Origin Systems for publication and distribution of his creations. On selling, he formed Destination Games, ultimately partnering with NCSoft in the production of Massively Multiple Online Role-Playing Games and becoming CEO of NCSoft Austin. Post-flight, Richard announced he would leave to pursue interests flowing from his space travel.
An accomplished amateur radio operator, Richard set aside time while aboard the International Space Station to communicate with students here in Austin, among others around the globe. With an earthly assist from Austin Astronomical Society member Mark Florian and his radio group, high schoolers from the Liberal Arts & Sciences Academy on the LBJ campus heard Garriott answer their questions from 230 miles aloft. Born in Cambridge, England, the first second generation American astronaut, having flown aboard the Soyuz sharing space with cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, Richard truly affords us a perspective beyond international. Come broaden your horizons!
The meeting was held on February 13. The speaker, William Ambrose--Research Scientist with the Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences, at the University of Texas at Austin--presented "Observing the Geologic History of the Moon," in which he provided a closer look at the Moon and its myriad features based on his research. According to Mr. Ambrose, "We know the surface of the Moon is scarred with giant impact basins and tens of thousands of craters.... However, a number of other intriguing features on the Moon are volcanic in origin, such as lava domes, cinder cones, and flow fronts. The Moon also abounds in structural features such as grabens, rift valleys, and scarps, as well as curiosities that defy explanation--mysteriously and randomly aligned crater chains, swirls with remnant paleomagnetism, and smooth and uncratered patches of terrain that may represent recent lunar degassing events." Whether part of the Moon's intrinsic geologic structure or caused by impact, volcanic activity or yet-to-be-understood processes," [t]hese and other lunar anomalies remain for study by both serious amateurs and the academic community," according to Mr. Ambrose. He will also address the probable presence of ice on the Moon, the various means by which this conclusion has been drawn, and the form and location in which it would likely appear. View abstract. View a PDF file of the presentation (13.7 megabytes). We are grateful to Phil Schmidt, Austin Astronomical Society member, for arranging for this month's speaker.
The meeting was held on Friday, January 9. The speaker was North Texas resident Max Corneau, who is a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Master Aviator, Senior Space Operations Officer and Intelligence officer currently assigned within the National Intelligence Community as a Senior Field Representative. Max has been an amateur astronomer for decades, a JPL Solar System Ambassador since 2004, a Life Member and currently Vice President of the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas. In 2006 Max was assigned to the Pentagon as a Senior Space Officer, served as a docent at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, led tours at the US Naval Observatory and became an honorary member of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club (NOVAC). In 2006 Max was elected to the Philosophical Society of Washington, our capitol's oldest scientific society. In 2008 Max received the Astronomical League Master Outreach award. Tonight's program took us on a unique inside tour of the U.S. Naval Observatory and the Air and Space Museum. You can learn more about Max's Astronomical Adventures at his website.
The meeting, our annual party, was held on Friday, December 12, at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve.
The meeting was held on Friday, November 14. Cited by Stephen James O'Meara in Deep Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects as an 'esteemed deep-sky observer' and 'most apparent living successor to William Herschel,' Larry Mitchell of the Houston Astronomical Society took us on a trip to the spiral galaxy closest to our own Milky Way. The Andromeda Galaxy is one of the furthest objects visible to the naked eye. Who better to guide us than Larry--a frequent speaker at the Texas Star Party and someone who has has 'compiled the positions of about 100,000 otherwise anonymous galaxies, not published anywhere,' according to O'Meara. Holder of the Herschel 400 Astronomical League award--and having logged every object Herschel did--Larry is also an acknowledged leader in communicating the wonders of astronomy to others. Holder of TSP's Omega Centauri Award for public awareness and/or promotion of astronomy (2006), he was first recognized in 1993 with the Lone Star Gazer Award for personal achievement, accomplishment and expertise. Please join us for what promises to be a memorable presentation on the ever popular Messier 31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
The meeting was held on Friday, October 10. Clayton Jeter spoke on "Cleaning Your Telescope Optics ... Another View." This was a comprehensive, interactive session with questions and specific photographic presentation of what Clayton terms an "aggressive" process for cleaning ALL optics, including binoculars. Come for the enjoyment and learn something along the way!
Clayton is a native Houstonian, growing up in Pasadena, Texas. He became interested in astronomy in the very early 1960's when he first observed the satellite Echo 1-A . In 1961, a friend introduced him to observing the night skies with his 3" Edmund Newtonian reflecting telescope and the astronomy hook was set. After graduating from Pasadena High he was drafted into the US Army. He was stationed in Germany and South Viet Nam. While in Ch Lai, he observed from Viet Nam's dark skies every clear night.
Clayton became a member of the Houston Astronomical Society in 1985. He has held positions of Telescope Loaner Chairperson, Field Trip and Observing Chair and is presently a club Board member. Clayton is an avid visual observer who enjoys observing and logging the Astronomical League's observing programs. He has completed the Messier, Double Star, Herschel 400, Lunar, and Urban certificates. He is currently working on the Planetary list with his new Celestron CGE 1400. Clayton is owner and operator of ADVANTAGE Telescope Repair in Brenham, Texas, that repairs and restores telescopes within the U.S.The meeting was held on Friday, September 12. The speaker was AAS member Ron Carman, who discussed optics. (The previously scheduled speaker, Lee Powell, had to postpone on short notice due to Hurricane Ike.)
The meeting was held on Friday, August 8, at the regular location. The speaker was one of our favorite guest speakers, Robert Reeves. In June of 2008, he spoke at the Midwest Astronomical Imaging Conference in Chicago on "What's New in DSLR Imaging." Robert reprised that talk for us.
Involved in astronomy for 50+ years, Robert has written dozens of articles for astronomy magazines and no less than 20 encyclopedia articles about space exploration. He is the author of three books, the most recent being an Introduction to Webcam Astrophotography, published by Willmann-Bell in 2006. His book projects have opened the door for Robert to speak at star parties, including our TSP and Eldorado star parties, Okie-Tex and the Winter Star Party. Robert has also spoken at a variety of venues around the country, such as the Northeast Astronomy Forum, AstroImage in Los Angeles, the Apollo Rendezvous in Ohio and a number of ALCON conventions.
Astrophotography has been a passion of Robert's since 1960. Wide-field piggy-back photography and lunar and planetary photography through the telescope occupied him through 1977. At that time, he obtained an 8-inch Celestron Schmidt Camera, later using it with a Celestron-14 telescope installed under in a friend's observatory's with a 4-meter dome. Robert worked in both color and black and white. Ultimately, Robert began his own observatory, the Von Braun Photographic Station, operational in 1986, eventually relocating it about 100 miles west of San Antonio. Robert's website is: http://www.robertreeves.com.
The meeting was held on Friday, July 11, at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve. The speaker was Alan Sill, Ph.D. and TIGRE Senior Scientist, High Performance Computing Center Adjunct Professor of Physics, Texas Tech University. The subject of Dr. Still's July presentation was "Particle Physics in Space" and might otherwise be subtitled "High Energy Processes: What they are and what they are good for--How we know they are Out There--What can be found and who can find It--What we know and what we want to know."
Involved in the early stages of the formation of the Open Science Grid and the Texas Internet Grid for Research and Education (TIGRE) and in distributed computing for the Collider Detector at Fermilab, Dr. Sill was a primary organizer of and now leads the the development team for the TIGRE at Texas Tech University's High Performance Computing Center, where he has been Senior Scientist since 2005.
Dr. Sill's research experience in scientific computing covers approximately three decades and spans a range of topics in particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and radiochemical analysis. He has authored over 300 publications spanning computational development, particle physics, nuclear physics, radiochemical analysis and cosmic ray physics. Having coordinated large-scale development projects for grid and distributed computing for the past decade, Dr. Sill also serves on a variety of related international standards bodies, including, among others, a working group on grid security.
The meeting was held on Friday, June 13. The speaker was Dr. Harold "Woody" Davis, who discussed the Phoenix Mars lander mission.
The meeting was held at Wild Basin on Friday, May 9. The speaker was Dr. Donald W. Olson, assisted by Mr. Russell Doescher, both of whom are on the faculty of Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The topic was "Sun, Moon, and Tides at Caesar's Invasion of Britain in 55 BC".
The meeting was held on Friday, April 11. The speaker will be AAS member Bill Tschumy, who will discuss "Looking Between the Stars: The Form and Function of the Interstellar Medium". Also, annual officer elections were held.
Bill has been active in amateur astronomy for 23 years.
He has lived in Austin for the past 14 years and has been
a member of the Austin Astronomical Society during that
entire time. He loves to share his knowledge of the sky
with others and public star parties are a favorite of
his.
Although his formal training is in zoology, Bill works in
Austin as a software engineer. In 2006 he also
founded Think Astronomy
to help promote amateur astronomy in the Austin area.
He conducts monthly astronomy talks and star parties
at Westcave Preserve
and regularly at local schools and other venues. Bill has
written "Where is M13?",
a free software application that shows the viewer the 3-D
locations and physical properties of deep sky objects in
and around the Milky Way Galaxy.
The meeting was held on March 14. The speaker was Dr. Karl Gebhardt. Dr. Gebhardt's presentation was: "The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment: Understanding the Nature of the Universe". Dr. Gebhardt is a professor in the UT Department of Astronomy. He works on a variety of galaxy studies, ranging from black holes to dark matter to dark energy. Dr. Gebhardt has won numerous awards, including the Northeaster Graduate Schools Dissertation Award in 1995, a Hubble Fellowship from NASA in 1997, Teaching Excellence Awards from UT in 2003 and the McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors in 2004, and most recently a National Science Foundation Career Award.
Most of his career, Dr. Gebhardt has focused on understanding the role that black holes play in the formation of a galaxy. He has measured more black hole masses than anyone else in the world and he is actively targeting many more galaxies for this study. His recent work focused on understanding dark energy. It was shown a few years ago that the Universe is expanding much faster than expected. Scientists have called this extra expansion dark energy, a mysterious force that works to counteract the pull of gravity. It is actually pushing the Universe apart. Dr. Gebhardt and colleagues have outlined a unique approach to using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the McDonald Observatory. They believe their result will be the most accurate measure of dark energy for many years into the future.
The meeting was held on Friday, February 8. The speaker was Amanda Bauer, a UT Astronomy doctoral student, who discussed "A Long Time Ago, in Galaxies Far, Far Away". Astronomy always fascinated Amanda as a child, but she never thought that it could be a feasible career. As an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati, she studied French for a year before recognizing her true fascination with the Universe. She changed her major to physics, having no real idea of what she was getting herself into! Ten years later, she is preparing to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with her PhD in Astronomy, still not entirely sure of what the Universe has in store for her, but excited to find out!
The meeting was held on January 11. The speaker was Jeff Barton, who discussed "What can meteorites tell us, and how have we learned to listen?" Jeff's Meteorite Petting Zoo was displayed for us to view. He also had a microscope and webcam to project images of meteorite thin sections to illustrate how we find out some of the things we know about meteorites. Jeff (aka, the "StarGeezer") is a member of The Meteoritical Society, the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas, and is a part-time staff member and instructor at the Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus of the Three Rivers Foundation for the Arts & Sciences. Jeff has been an amateur astronomer since he first saw the Moon in daylight through his third-grade classroom window in Ft. Worth in 1956. He has collected and studied meteorites for the past decade and operates a Meteorite Petting Zoo, a traveling meteorite exhibit he carts to public schools, astronomy club meetings and outreach events, and science teachers' workshops. He has been extremely active in public outreach, traveling several thousand miles to astronomy events and workshops in Texas and Colorado since retiring from Texas Instruments in 2000.
The meeting was held on December 14 at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve. This was our annual party.
The meetings were held on November 9. The speaker was Ian U. Roederer, a PhD student in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas, who discussed "Why the Periodic Table Cares about the Late Stages of Stellar Evolution". Ian's research concentrates on observing the chemical composition of the oldest stars in our galaxy. These stars help guide our understanding of the nature of the first generations of stars, the formation of our Galaxy, and the physical origin of all elements that comprise our Earth and ourselves.
The meeting was held on October 12. The featured speaker was Mike Siegel, who is a research fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia in 2002 and completed postdoctoral work at the Space Telescope Science Institute. His primary research uses photometry, spectroscopy, and proper motions of field stars, globular clusters, and dwarf galaxies to unravel the history of the Milky Way. His topic was: "Surveying Globular Clusters with the Hubble Space Telescope".
The meeting was held on September 14.
The August meetings were held on Saturday afternoon, August 12, at Canyon of the Eagles during the Central Texas Star Party. The speaker was University of Texas at Austin/McDonald Observatory research associate Judit Györgyey Ries, who discussed Near-Earth Objects.
The meetings were held on July 13. The speaker was McDonald Observatory astronomer Dan Lester, who will discuss the topic "Astronomical Telescopes and the Vision for Space Exploration". Dave Clark presented the constellations Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices.
The meetings were held on June 8.
The meetings were held on May 11. This was the occasion of our Annual Astrophotography Contest.
The meetings was held on April 13. UT astronomy graduate student and former high-school teacher Steven DeGennaro discussed "The Luminosity Function of White Dwarfs". The annual election of officers was held.
The meetings was held on March 9. UT astronomy graduate student Shay Strong discussed "Saturn and its Climate".
The meeting was held on February 9. Dr. Donald Olson and Russell Doescher from Texas State University gave a presentation on "Predicting Moonbows at Yosemite".
The meeting was held on January 12. The speaker was Agnes Kim of the UT Astronomy Department. She discussed white dwarf stars.
This month, on December 8, we had a club party, which was held at Wild Basin.
The meetings were held on November 10. The speaker was John Hall from Pegasus Optics.
The meetings were held on October 13. AAS member and officer Clyde Springen spoke on the "Dust in the Solar System".
The meeting was held on September 8. AAS member and secretary Ron Carman spoke on "Spectroscopy".
The meeting was held on Saturday, August 26, during the Central Texas Star Party (CTSP). The speaker was AAS member Bill Tschumy, who discussed the topic "Observing the Milky Way: Seeing the Forest and the Trees".
The meeting was held on July 14. The presentation was a showing of the movie "For All Mankind".
The meeting was held on June 9. The speaker was AAS member Anne Adkins, whose topic was a history of TSP, as presented at the South Pacific Star Party earlier this year.
The meeting was held at Wild Basin on May 12. It was time for the Annual AAS Astrophotography Contest. Robert Reeves from San Antonio discussed astrophotography using webcams.
The April meeting was held on April 14, and AAS member and Events Chair Clyde Springen discussed "Evidence for an accelerating universe".
The March meeting was held on March 10, and the speaker was Prof. Don Olson, with the assistance of Russell Doescher, both from Texas State University, San Marcos. The topic dealt with a couple of astronomical questions about Edvard Munch's painting, "Girls on the Pier". (Munch's most famous painting worldwide is "The Scream".) Prof. Olson also followed up on another previous presentation that included Ansel Adams' famous photo of the Moon rising over Yosemite Park's Half Dome.
The meetings this month were held on Friday, February 10. AAS member and Secretary Ron Carman discussed the Coriolis Effect.
The meeting was held on Friday, January 13. Our speaker was Dr. Eiichiro Komatsu, who discussed the topic "The Early Universe as seen via Cosmic Microwave Background".
Dr. Komatsu, a theoretical cosmologist, has a PhD in 2001 from Tohoku University, Japan. He was the WMAP postdoctoral research fellow, Princeton University, 2001-2003. He has been an Assistant Professor at UT, here in Austin, since 2003.
Dr. Komatsu investigates the physics of the very early universe (the epoch of inflation), using both theoretical tools and observational tools. The observational tools he mainly uses are the cosmic microwave background and the distribution of galaxies (called the large-scale structure of the universe).
The December meeting, Friday, December 9, was an AAS Holiday Party (Potluck), was held at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve.
The meeting was held on Friday, November 11. Our speaker was AAS member Bill Tschumy, who discussed "Escape from Plato's Cave: The Milky Way and the Galactic Coordinate System". (Download and view a copy of the presentation.)
The meeting was held on Friday, October 14. Our speaker was Dr. Mark R. Vining, who discussed "Observations and Conclusions regarding the Nature of the Milky Way Galaxy", a layman's look at the structure and processes of our galaxy in relation to the spectrum of galactic entities throughout the universe.
Doctor Vining has a PhD in Geosciences, Engineering & Mathematics. He is a professional geologist who works in groundwater protection for the State of Texas. He has worked in professional and educational capacities in the geosciences for over 30 years in oil and gas exploration and production, as well as in water resources. Since childhood, Dr. Vining has had an interest in astronomy and cosmology. He has an ongoing interest in modeling the forms of matter in the universe as they occur in natural agglomerations of different initial masses and compositions.
The meeting was held on Friday, September 9, at the Central Texas Star Party. Our speaker was Dr. Lesli J. Wood, a Research Scientist and Lecturer at the Bureau of Economic Geology in the University of Texas John A. and Kathyrn G. Jackson School of Geosciences, who will discuss "Deltas on Mars: Life in the Martian Marshes".
The meeting was held on Saturday, August 6, at the Central Texas Star Party. Our speakers were Don Olson, who discussed the moonrise photos of photographer Ansel Adams, and Barbara Wilson, who talked about "Dark Sky Observing at the Edge".
Our speaker this month was Larry Mitchell of Houston, who discussed Halton Arp and the Arp peculiar galaxies. Bill Tschumy presented Scutum as the Constellation of the Month.
Our speakers this month were Amelia Goldberg, who presented a "Universe Sampler", and Robert Reeves, who discussed "High Resolution Lunar Mosaics from Webcam Images". It also was the occasion of the AAS Astrophoto Contests!
Our speaker was Dr. Don Winget, Chairman, Astronomy Department, UT Austin.
Our speaker was astrophotographer Robert Reeves. We held our annual officers election.
Houston astronomer, Larry Mitchell, talked about Sir William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus and founder of modern stellar astronomy. Julia Harvey presented Cancer as the Constellation of the Month.
The meeting was held on Friday, February 11. Torvald Hessel of Friends of the Austin Planetarium presented "The 21st Century Planetarium". Brian Banicki presented Canis Major as the Constellation of the Month.
The meeting was held on Friday, January 14. AAS member John Carman talked about "time". Leonard Harvey presented Perseus as the Constellation of the Month.
Top of PageThe meeting on Friday, December 10. By a vote of the members at the November meeting, this month's meeting was a solstice/holiday party held at Wild Basin. There was a presentation of "An Unauthorized History of the Austin Astronomical Society".
AAS member Frank Mikan discussed "The Great Refractor-Reflector Debate" and also exhibited some very old astronomy books. The Constellation of the Month was Cassiopeia, by Dave Clark.
Clyde Springen discussed recognizing star types by their colors. The Constellation of the Month was Perseus, presented by Cecile Shopen.
The meeting was held on Friday, September 10, at the regular UT Austin location. Don Olson and Russell Doescher discussed "The Moon and the First Marathon". (See related Sky & Telescope article.) The Constellation of the Month was Cygnus, presented by Dave Clark.
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